Military vehicles/crafts are subjected to threats, e.g. in a situation of war, constituting targets for attack from land, air and sea. It is therefore desired that the vehicle is as difficult as possible to detect and identify. For this purpose military vehicles are often camouflaged to the background such that they are difficult to detect and identify with the bare eye. Further, they are hard to detect in darkness with different types of image intensifiers. A problem is that attacking crafts such as combat vehicles and aircrafts often are equipped with a combination of one or more active and/or passive sensor systems comprising radar and electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) sensors wherein the vehicles/crafts become relatively easy targets to detect, classify and indentify. Users of such sensor systems search for a certain type of thermal/reflecting contour normally not occurring in nature, usually different edge geometries, and/or large evenly heated surfaces and/or even reflecting surfaces.
In order to protect against such systems different types of techniques are at present used in the area of signature adaptation. Signature adaptation techniques comprises constructional actions and are often combined with advanced material techniques in order to provide a specific emitting and/or reflecting surface of the vehicles/crafts in all wave length areas wherein such sensor systems operate.
US2010/0112316 A1 describe a visual camouflage system that provides at least thermal suppression or radar suppression. The system comprises a vinyl layer having a camouflage pattern on a front surface of the vinyl layer. The camouflage pattern comprises a location specific camouflage pattern. A laminate layer is attached over the front surface of the vinyl layer to provide a protection over the camouflage pattern and a reinforcement of the vinyl layer. One or more nano material is applied to at least one of the vinyl layer, the camouflage pattern or the laminate to provide at least one of a thermal or radar suppression. This solution only enables static signature adaptation.
WO12010/093323 A1 describe a device for thermal adaptation, comprising at least one surface element arranged to assume a determined thermal distribution, said surface element comprising a first heat conducting layer, a second heat conducting layer, said first and second heat conducting layers being mutually thermally isolated by means of an intermediate insulation layer, wherein at least one thermoelectric element is arranged to generate a predetermined temperature gradient to a portion of said first layer. The invention also relates to an object such as a craft. This solution only enables thermal signature adaptation.